Arts Preview: A summer steaming with classical music

Thursday

May 15, 2014 at 8:00 AM

By Keith PowersWicked Local Arts correspondent

If summertime is the offseason for classical music in Boston, someone forgot to tell the musicians. With opera, chamber music, contemporary festivals, revivals and - of course, al fresco performances - the warm months are positively steaming with music both in Boston and around the state.Odyssey Opera is doing its very best to be unconventional. After its debut with Wagner’s "Rienzi" last September at Jordan Hall, maestro Gil Rose’s troupe went quiet for the entire concert season. But now they’re back.This June (11-14), Odyssey Opera rotates three works from the rarities menu through the Boston University Theater: Verdi’s "Un Giorno di Regno," Mascagni’s "Zanetto," and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s "Il Segreto di Susanna." Then in September, Korngold’s once-proud "Die Tote Stadt" takes the Jordan Hall stage again, for the first time in Boston. To catch up on Odyssey Opera and find tickets and information visit www.bostontheatrescene.com or call 617-933-8600.More opera takes place out west, when the Boston Lyric Opera reprises a chamber version of the compelling "Lizzie Borden," Jack Beeson’s work that was so convincingly staged this season, at Tanglewood. The July 31 performance is part of the 20th anniversary celebration of stately Ozawa Hall, with dozens of other performances including appearances by the Emerson String Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma, Sequentia, and a concert performance of Handel’s "Teseo" with Nicholas McGegan’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.Tanglewood’s annual Festival of Contemporary Music takes up residence in Ozawa Hall from July 17-21, and this summer’s directors, John Harbison and Michael Gandolfi, have curated a largely American series that looks backward on works by Bernard Rands, George Perle, Roger Sessions, Steven Mackey and others, and forward to new works by Gandolfi, Hannah Lash and Benjamin Scheuer.Across the lawn at Tanglewood, in the Shed, the big band presents its usual mix of performances reflecting back to the past season and anticipating the next. The July 5 opening night gala features Renée Fleming singing Wagner excerpts. Newly minted music director Andris Nelsons’ all-Dvorak program on July 11 stands out, with Anne-Sophie Mutter soloing in that composers’ tortuous violin concerto. Nelsons leads two weeks’ worth of concerts, with a July 12 performance of Richard Strauss’ "Der Rosenkavalier," featuring the TMC orchestra and soloists that include sparkling mezzo Isabel Leonard, of particular note.Among the many guests visiting the Lenox idyll this summer are conductors Christoph von Dohnanyi, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, John Williams and Marcelo Lehninger, and soloists like Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Jeremy Denk, Leonidas Kavakos, Augustin Hadelich, Paul Lewis and Gabriela Montera. Garrison Keillor (June 28) and James Taylor (July 3 and 4) offer a lighter touch. Complete Tanglewood listings and ticket information can be found at www.bso.org or by calling 617-266-1492.The Landmarks Orchestra always makes sure that the sounds of summer include good music in Boston. The orchestra’s free weekly Wednesdays (July 16-Aug. 27) at the Hatch Shell, under the director of maestro Christopher Wilkins, kick off with the popular "Carmina Burana." It’s the most family friendly of music events - think picnic (that’s you) with a soundtrack (that’s them). The orchestra also presents a series of community events in Charlestown, Jamaica Plain and elsewhere; check http://www.landmarksorchestra.org%20or call 617-987-2000.The Rockport Chamber Music Festival has done nothing to diminish its international reputation this year. Opening night (June 6) features the Emerson String Quartet, with foursomes like Calder, Shanghai, Borromeo and Parker also appearing in the following seven weeks. The Claremont Trio returns, and pianist Jeremy Denk performs a major recital that includes Ives’ Concord Sonata and Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Wu Han/David Finckel, Stefan Jackiw, Joyce Yang and the BSO Chamber Players also dot the schedule, which runs through July 13 (www.rockportmusic.org; 978-546-7391).Chamber music moves to Cape Cod later in the summer, and this year’s Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, under the astute direction of Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse, also features the Emerson Quartet (July 31), as well as the Escher, Borromeo and Cypress quartets. The festival (July 27-Aug. 17) also welcomes the Boston Cello Quartet, a sterling foursome comprised of BSO cello section members. The festival rotates through multiple venues on the Cape; check http://www.capecodchambermusic.org%20or call 508-247-9400 for details.The Monadnock Summer Festival has yet to announce its summer schedule, but artistic director Gil Rose has treated area music lovers to great music in July and August. Check http://www.monadnockmusic.org%20or call 603-924-7610 for information about the upcoming 49th season.Pianist Heng-Jin Park directs the first Halcyon Music Festival in Portsmouth from July 24-Aug. 2, joined by artists like Ayano Ninomiya, Jan Müller-Szeraws and Irina Muresanu. See www.halcyonmusic.org or call 617-651-1387. Further afield, summer festivals brighten up Putney, Vt. (Yellow Barn, July 4-Aug. 2; www.yellowbarn.org or 802-387-6637) and Killington, which features appearances by Philippe Entremont and Joseph Silverstein (from June 28-Aug. 2, also directed by Heng-Jin Park; visit http://www.killingtonmusicfestival.org%20or call 802-773-4003).